Forgive us while we fan-girl for a moment…but this is a pretty big deal. It’s Halloween, and as a special treat we have dark fiction author Beverley Lee answering our questions!
A few years ago, as if by fate, we stumbled across her first book - The Making of Gabriel Davenport. A deliciously different vampire tale. We were hooked, and couldn’t wait to hang a fang into the second and third installments in the series. We love that as an author, Ms. Lee creates incredible worlds within her books. And as we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know her through social media, we’ve experienced first hand the care she takes to foster community by way of her unending support of other writers and readers.
Now, she’s on the cusp of having her fourth novel released, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to share one of our favorite authors with you.
Author Beverley Lee
The Celestial Thread: How did you come to be a writer?
Beverley Lee: I’ve always written stories, either in notebooks or in my head. My poor primary school teacher had to put up with dozens of awful cliché ridden pony stories, complete with illustrations! Later, when the internet was quite new and shiny, I drifted onto message boards, where I stayed for a few years and wrote vampire fan fiction, and where the first seeds of characters like Gabriel and Clove were laid.
But the push to actually put pen to paper and write a book came when a personal event destroyed my life and how I thought it would continue. As I picked up the pieces I started to think ‘maybe you can write a novel’, but I had so much fear and self-doubt that it wasn’t until 2015 that I decided that if I didn’t do it now, I would forever be looking back and thinking what if.
TCT: Where did the inspiration for The Making of Gabriel Davenport come from, and at what point did you realize it would grow into a series?
BL: I had the idea for the original story years ago when I saw a TV show about an old house used as a paranormal research centre, and wrote a few thousand words about a place that dealt in those things. Four characters emerged from that very badly written part draft, characters that would go on to be Gabe, Carver, Ollie and Clove.
The actual first few scenes in Gabriel, as it is now, were written for a competition for new writers, but I never sent it in. About six months later, in January 2015, I pulled it from my files and started playing with it again.
When I first started writing, it was only going to be a standalone. That one book that everyone is supposed to have in them. It wasn’t until Clove, Moth and Teal came on the scene that I realised that there was much more of the story to tell. Moth, in particular, blazed onto the page and demanded that I write the sequel.
TCT: Is there a message in the series that you want readers to grasp?
BL: That there is a very fine line between what we perceive as good, and what we perceive as evil. That who you call family, and what you will sacrifice to save them, is not only a human attribute. Love and loyalty, and the courage to face impossible situations with your head held high is all that matters.
TCT: Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, or Anne Rice – which of these three writers would you love to collaborate with and why? (You can only choose one!)
BL: Impossible question! ☺ But if I had to choose? Anne Rice. Because she was a huge influence on my writing, and talking with her and possibly melding her vampire world with the one I’ve created would be more than incredible. I’d love to spend time really getting to know how she went about creating her characters and their amazing stories.
TCT: What would readers find most surprising about your creative process?
BL: That I never plan/plot everything. I let my characters lead me on their own paths. I trust them to make their own story. Sometimes this is seamless, and others it takes thousands of words to actually find what they’re trying to tell me, words that never make it into the final book, but which give me a deeper insight into their characters and what makes them who they are.
TCT: Do you ever research real events, legends, or myths to get ideas for your writing?
BL: Absolutely. I’m a huge fan of using real life settings or events. I think they ground a story and give it strength. As you know, I weave mythology throughout my books, and I research any ideas I have with the nose of a bloodhound! But what I really love is discovering tiny snippets about these myths or legends, something not many people know, and weaving that into the story line. The demon in the box (Aka Maga in Gabriel), the Minotaur in the labyrinth (the monster in the middle in Shadows) and the creature who pulls the dead from their eternal sleep (the necromancer in Purity) are all things people are aware of, I just used creative licence to mould them into what I needed them to be.
TCT: When writing a series, how do you keep things fresh for both readers and yourself?
BL: By never knowing exactly what will happen (that applies to writing and reading!) I always have a beginning, an end, and a few key points I’d like to hit when I’m writing. The rest I leave up to my characters, and I like to think that the twisty pathways my characters lead me on whilst writing will be the same for my readers. Those ‘oh my goodness’ moments they experience, I’ve already had ;)
TCT: You have a new novel coming out in 2020, can you tell us a little bit about it?
BL: I certainly can ☺ It’s called The Ruin of Delicate Things.
“Loss leaves a hole large enough for anything to crawl into.”
Barrington Hall is a place of dark and twisted secrets. Something Dan Morgan is all too aware of. But it’s not until a heart-breaking loss brings him back to the cottage where he spent his childhood summers, that he realises the true horror of how far Barrington Hall will go to make him remember.
It’s a story of revenge and remorse, of trying to find something that is lost. Of an act so terrible that the repercussions have vibrated down through the years.
Scheduled for release early 2020.
TCT: What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?
BL: As I spend a lot of my time holed up in my study writing, I love to get out and walk. One of my favourite things to do is to trample through ancient woodland, and I’m lucky to live close enough to take advantage of this. There’s something so blissfully calming about nature. I’ve got myself out of many a plot issue whilst wandering, and I frequently talk over dialogue, which probably makes me seem quite mad to anyone watching ;)
I also love historic houses/places. I think old stone has a tale to tell, if only you take the time to listen.
TCT: We know from personal experience that you are incredibly supportive of other writers. What’s the one piece of advice you wish you’d been given when you first started your writing journey?
BL: That the first draft is just you telling yourself the story. Back before I started to write Gabriel, I was my own worst critic. I overanalysed everything I wrote which meant that a lot of stories never made it past the first few thousand words. One piece of advice finally sunk in – and that was never edit a first draft. Just write it, with all its flaws and inconsistencies. Because the one thing a story hates is a nit-picky writer. It has to have a chance to flow, to find its own rhythm and it can’t do that until you leave it alone and trust it. The second draft is where you get to sort the wheat from the chaff. Rewrites are an essential part of the process. Every single author out there has them, even the ones who consistently appear on the best seller lists!
Beverley Lee is a freelance writer currently residing in the south east of England. In thrall to the written word from an early age, especially the darker side of fiction, she believes that the very best story is the one you have to tell. Supporting fellow authors is also her passion and she is actively involved in social media and writers’ groups. The Making of Gabriel Davenport, A Shining in the Shadows, and The Purity of Crimson make up the Gabriel Davenport series.
All my books and where to find them are listed on my website https://beverleylee.com/ where you can download a free short story, a dark and twisted fairy tale, by signing up to my mailing list.
My favourite place to hang out is on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theconstantvoice/
But you can also find me on –
Twitter - https://twitter.com/constantvoice
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14969899.Beverley_Lee
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/beverleyleeauthor/
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.co.uk/theconstantvoice/
Bookbub - https://www.bookbub.com/profile/beverley-lee